Flik 11 Brev Merkel Sarkozy engelska

Bilaga till dokument från EU-nämnden 2007/08:5459

Lisbon Strategy – Joint letter from M. Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the Republic, and Mrs Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, to Mr José Socrates, President of the European Union Council¹

Meseberg, 10 September 2007

"Reinforcing the Lisbon Strategy through external economic measures"

The European Union has made considerable progress towards increasing its competitiveness. During the last few years, companies and employees have successfully adapted to the demands of a globalized economy. Structural reforms in the European Union and in the member States have underpinned this process, which is bringing prosperity and jobs to people.

In a globalized world we can bolster the positive effects of these adjustments by reinforcing our domestic efforts through external economic measures. We therefore propose that President Barroso’s initiative on the external dimension of the Lisbon Strategy be taken up and discussed at the next informal meeting of the heads of State and government on 18 and 19 October 2007.

We remain convinced that open markets will guarantee Europe’s prosperity and development. We are therefore still working towards reaching a balanced and comprehensive agreement in the Doha Round. However, we have observed that non-tariff trade and investment barriers, as well as unfair practices in the global economy, including politically influenced exchange rates, have reached alarming proportions. We want to do more to tackle these problems, and to keep access to raw materials and energy as open as possible, to vigorously protect intellectual property rights, to reinforce trade policy instruments against unfair trade practices and to prevent State financial incentives from distorting competition.

Open markets can only develop their full potential if transparent rules facilitate fair competition in a spirit of reciprocity. That will require a united front, especially when it comes to devising strategies to convince third states to dismantle barriers which place European companies at a disadvantage. Alternatively, Europe should negotiate waivers similar to those granted to our big trading partners in order to foster SME growth.

Particular attention should be paid to those spheres in which sovereign wealth funds distort competition. Europe has to take this up with its partners.

The EU’s economic success will continue to depend on the competitiveness of our economies. Recent developments have brought home to us that the stability of these increasingly globalized financial markets is vital for our economies and cannot by any means be taken for granted. Financial market transparency and appropriate regulation and supervision are of the essence if damaging excesses are to be averted. We need to foster this transparency and accountability for all players, including rating agencies, both at European and global level. We should also call for a code of conduct for the hedge fund sector.

The heads of State and government of the European Union and the President of the European Commission should therefore work together to tackle all these issues.

We could lay the necessary groundwork for making decisions by the 2008 spring summit through discussions at the next informal meeting of heads of State and government in October./.

¹ Source of English text: French Presidency/German Chancellor’s Office